Osteoporosis is as common as cancer and heart disease;
according to the World Health Organization (WHO), research shows that a 50 year
old woman has the same risk of dying from the complications of a bone injury as
from breast cancer. Osteoporosis is the thinning of the bone, more women suffer
from this; 1 in 3 will suffer a fracture in their lifetime. To prevent this,
WHO thought it would be best to start having women be screened at the beginning
of menopause through a test called a DEXA scan, and be followed up every 3
years. If a woman is diagnosed, therapy will be given with medications to build
bone and reduce the risk of fracture.
I personally believe that WHO should take more action in the
prevention of this disease; there must also be a way to get the information out
to those at risk; to gain the knowledge. It is known that osteoporosis comes
from the lack of calcium intake; there are more than one way of getting this
whether it’s a dairy resource or a nondairy one. Calcium can come from milk,
cheese, etc. But I understand that there are countries that do not have a way
of receiving those sources without a possible risk of contamination. So there
must be a more cost effective way of distributing the necessary supplements,
this is by giving extra calcium and vitamin D vitamins. I also believe that
this situation should be taken care of beforehand, why should a woman start
being tested when they hit menopause? By this time it could be too late to
reverse the condition—the initiative should be taken, in my opinion, as soon as
a woman starts menstruating and promoting good nutrition, a time when bone
density will be more likely to be at risk. With this approach, I believe that
the cases of osteoporosis in women can be reduced quite significantly.
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